The Iron Prince
by PasoMaddie
Summary: Ash and Meghan have finally gotten their happy ending. However, how long will that happy ending last for? Will the life that grows inside of Megan threaten to crack that happy ending or will it make the happy ending stronger? AshxMeghan
1. Chapter 1

THE IRON PRINCE

An Iron Fey Fanfiction  
The Iron Fey written by Julie Kagawa

I stood in front of the mirror, in a bathroom that connected to the bedroom that I shared with my faery knight. I stared at my pale reflection, my fingers trailing over the long scars that still remained after my near death experience against the former Iron King, Ferrum. Even though the Iron Realm had healed me of my injuries, it hadn't been enough to take all of the reminders away; it had still left me with the ugly scars that trailed across my chest and stomach. They disturbed me each and every day; every day that I had to look at them was just another reminder of what I had almost lost. My life and my husband.

Ash knew they made me uncomfortable and he told me I was beautiful every day, that the scars were just another part of me that he loved. "My bravery," He had said to me once, before brushing a kiss to one that just poked out from under my shirt.

I shivered at the memory and drew my bath robes around me, obscuring the ugly white lines from view.

Ash was sitting up in bed when I emerged, a worn book in his hands. He glanced up at me when I approached, a soft smile gracing his features. Never could I get over how much I loved him; never could I ever figure out how this former winter prince was mine and nobody else's; never could I ever figure out what he saw in me to love me so much.

I settled beside him on the covers, curling up against his side so that we fit together like two puzzle pieces. He planted a kiss on the top of my head, one hand coming up to stroke my hair as he continued to read.

I must have dozed off for a little bit because the next thing I knew, I was being awoken by a knock at the door and a voice calling for me. I drew myself up and travelled to the door where Glitch waited on the other side.

He glanced down at what I was wearing; hair tussled and looking like it hadn't been brushed for years; bath robe that was crumpled; probably lines on my cheek from the fabric of Ash's shirt. I glanced back at the silent faery on my bed and saw that he was watching us silently, silver eyes bright.

"Good evening, Your Majesty. I don't mean to interrupt but have you forgotten your plans for this evening?"

A look of confusion passed across my face and then it popped into my head. "Oh my gosh! It's the dinner with my father tonight!" I began to hurry around the room, opening and closing drawers, pulling out pieces of clothing. "Thanks Glitch! I will be out in a few minutes."

The door closed behind him as he left and then I was faced with Ash who clambered out of the bed to stand in front of me, his hands firm on my shoulders. "What's this dinner with your father thing?"

"Crap, I forgot to tell you." I muttered and cursed myself. I had been forgetting many things lately and this was only just one of them. "We are going to the Summer Realm to have dinner with Oberon and Titania."

"Both of us?" He questioned as I reached into my closet and pulled out a floor length royal blue gown. I tossed it onto the bed, turned to answer but stopped as I felt a rush of nausea flood over me. I clutched the edge of the bed for balance and watched as Ash's silver eyes turned concern. He moved cautiously towards me, his arms outstretched in front of him as if he was confronting a wild, scared animal. "Meghan… are you alright?"

I bolted, ignoring his voice as he called out my name. I barely made it to the bathroom before I was emptying the contents of my stomach. I felt Ash's cool hands touch my back lightly and as he pulled my hair away from my face, his fingers lightly brushing the knobs of my spine in a comforting way. Finally I pulled away from the toilet and leaned heavily against my knight's chest.

His hand moved up to cup my forehead, checking to see if I had a fever. I shivered at his touch. "Meghan… maybe you shouldn't go tonight…"

I shook my head and pushed against him, using him to help me stand. I washed my mouth out quickly and ran the bristles of my toothbrush along my teeth, trying to dislodge the bitter aftertaste.

***PAGE BREAK***

Glitch was waiting for us beside a carriage when we emerged from the bedroom, hand in hand. Ash had tried several more times to get me not to go but every time I had refused. My father would not look kindly on me if I didn't arrive, no matter what the circumstances. And honestly, I felt fine now.

We stepped up into the carriage and I felt it begin to move. I leaned back against Ash's chest as we moved, feeling his steady heartbeat through my dress. I tossed some situations around in my head as we went, thinking of all of the reasons why I had felt sick, why I had been so tired and forgetful… it popped into my head when we weren't far away from my father's realm and I considered discussing it with Ash, but it wouldn't have been fair to him, to burden him with my thoughts when we were minutes away from dining with Oberon, the Summer King, my father.

I was grateful for Ash's silence along the way too. I could sense him wanting to talk to me, wanting to ask what was wrong with me, but he didn't, just left me alone with my thoughts. I don't think he will ever realise how grateful I was of it in that moment.

Oberon greeted us as we swept into the dining room, my arm linked with the former Winter prince's. My father talked small talk with us, mostly about politics though. He sensed that there was something happening between Ash and I, so he wrapped things up early.

On the carriage ride home, Ash and I barely spoke a word and it wasn't until we had gone into the privacy of our bedroom that we began to speak.

"Ash…" I began, unsure how to say the next few words that had been on my mind all night. He glanced at me, silver eyes bright and concerned. He urged me on with his eyes, pleading with me to tell him what was wrong. I took a big breath in, preparing myself for his reaction and then let it blurt out so fast that surely he wouldn't have been able to catch it. "I'm pregnant."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

His whole body seemed to lock up until it looked as if it was a wound up spring, ready to explode at any moment. The blood had all but drained from his face and behind his eyes he seemed to be having some sort of internal war.

He opened his mouth to speak but quickly clamped it shut. Ash seemed to be at a loss for words; well there's a first.

I stepped forward and took his hand in mine, feeling it cold and unresponsive as he was still frozen in place. Slowly, his fingers began to curl around mine, one by one, until it was eventually entirely wrapped around mine, squeezing tightly. Eventually his gaze shifted from the spot on the wall down to mine. As I stared, I watched as his silver eyes began to gleam, literally gleam. Suddenly his lips were on mine with a crushing force. Our mouths worked together and I felt his hand slip down from my shoulder to rest over my stomach, where if I actually was pregnant, our baby would be.

I was the first one to pull away and for a moment, all we could do was stare into each other's eyes; silver on blue. His hand slipped down to rest over my stomach, where our baby would be if I really was pregnant.

"Maybe I should get a test before we get too excited…"

"Too late," He murmured and grinned, his thumb brushing the fabric of my dress over my stomach. I placed my hand over his while he continued, "But maybe you are right. We'll go into the mortal world tomorrow and pick a test up."

I pulled my head back sharply to peer into his silver eyes. He looked back questioningly at me, confused at my sudden movement. "Can we go tonight? I want to go tonight. I don't want to wait. If we go tomorrow, I won't be able to sleep due to the wonder and anticipation that is built up inside of me."

Ash's eyes softened and he raised his hand and placed it gently on my cheek, his thumb skimming across my cheekbone. "If that's what you want, that's what we'll do." One corner of his mouth quirked up. "We can't have Her Majesty not sleeping, can we?"

Playfully, I swatted Ash gently on the arm and he chuckled, before I went out to find my lieutenant.

***PAGE BREAK***

Glitch, my lieutenant, was found to be strolling around the corridors of the palace, speaking with one of the many guards. He walked with his hands clasped behind his back, talking with such ease that I really didn't want to go up to him, for fear of ending their conversation. However, before I could quickly retreat back to the bedroom, Glitch had already caught site of me. He raised one of his hands and waved me over. Now, there was no turning back.

I smiled friendly at the both of them as I made my way over to them. They bowed as I approached. "Your Majesty." Glitch greeted and the lieutenant and guard said farewell to each other. He turned back to me. "What can I do for you?"

"Ash and I need to leave for the Mortal world tonight." Glitch frowned uncertainly at me. "Just for an hour or two at least."

"Why do you need to go tonight?"

"It's important and we need to leave as soon as possible. In fact, now would be even better." I could feel the tension and anxiety building up inside me, the longing to know whether I carried another person inside of me or not. I couldn't stand to wait another hour or two, I had to know now.

I don't know whether Glitch could see the panic across my face or the way my body was strung tight with anticipation, but he nodded and said, "I will fetch a carriage right away, Your Majesty and I will look after the Kingdom until you return."

"Thank you, Glitch." And I hurried back towards the bedroom where my husband waited.

***PAGE BREAK***

Ash and I waited outside of the palace as the carriage pulled up and Glitch stepped forward to open the door. We stepped up but before we could depart, Glitch told us to be careful and I promised him that we would. As the door closed and the carriage took off, I felt Ash's arms circle around me and I leant back against him, feeling his heart hammer through his chest. He pressed his cool lips to the back of my head and I shivered against him. Thinking I was cold, he drew me closer.

"Ash," I whispered so quietly I wasn't sure that he would hear me. But he brushed my hair away from the back of my neck and hummed at me to continue. "What if I'm not? … But what if I am?" My mind was whirling with all of these possibilities, of what ifs and what nots… I didn't know what I wanted. I could feel a headache dawning and I rubbed the back of my hand across my forehead wearily.

"We'll get to that when we're absolutely sure of the answer. Whatever happens, I love you and I always will. Nothing will ever change that."

I turned around and pressed my lips to Ash's. I heard him breathe in deeply and then he was returning my act of love, pressing his lips to mine just as passionately. Suddenly, the coach stopped moving and the door was flung open, revealing the driver.

"Your Majesty, we are here." Ash stepped down first, before turning around to help me down. Once I was safely on the ground, we left the carriage behind and ventured into the Wyld Wood towards the pod that would take us to the Mortal World.

Ash slipped his hand into mine as we walked and I couldn't help but tighten my grip on his. He casted me a glance but didn't say anything. Suddenly, a loud roar ran through the open space and bounced off the trees around us. We stopped in our tracks and silently, Ash moved in front of me, shielding me with his body.

I wasn't scared; I had battled many creatures that had big sharp teeth and claws and I had battled against the former Iron Kings. However, nevertheless, I didn't loosen my grip on Ash's hand and I reached forward with my free hand to take the back of his jacket in my hand. He turned his head slightly, casting a glance at me over his shoulder. Reassuringly, he smiled and whatever had been spiralling in me to react like that softened, but I still didn't let go. I was content to keep holding onto him like that.

Together, as one, we kept walking forward until we were only a few feet away from the opening of the pod. Unlike what we had been expecting, there was nothing waiting for us; no dragon, no angry goblin, nothing. The hand that was clutching Ash's shirt tightened until the fabric was fisted in my hand, probably wrinkling the fabric.

Suddenly, I felt something grip my own white T-shirt and I screamed, finally letting go of Ash. He whipped around, his sword already out. He threw me behind him and I felt the fabric of my shirt tear down the back from whatever had been holding it. Instantly, I felt the cool air of the Wyld Wood cut through the fabric and onto my exposed back.

Ash was already at battle against the dragon that was guarding the pod, his sword whipping through the air and slicing down on the dragon's arm. The dragon squealed in pain and anguish and whipped one of its clawed paws out and caught Ash on the arm. I screamed a _no!_ and raced forward, my own blade coming out to defend my husband. My knight tried to push me backwards, out of the way and out of the fight. But I protested and continued fighting. No one got to hurt my husband if I had anything to do about it.

Ash stabbed and stabbed at the dragon and it dragged its attention to him. This left a moment open, where I could get in and stab it through the heart. I dived forward, my sword held in front of me. I didn't see or feel the sword enter the body of the dragon but I heard its scream and felt the slackness of its body as it began to fall forward, towards me. I stood frozen, unable to move as the heavy and large body of the beast began to fall in my direction. I felt a hand close around my forearm that tugged me out of the way, just seconds before the body came to a crash on the ground.

I was yanked roughly to him as his arms circled tightly around me and his lips pressed hard against my forehead. He sighed in relief and kissed my lips. He pulled back and brushed the hair from my face, cupping my cheeks between his palms. "I'll say this once and I will say this again, being with you is never boring. But God," He leaned his forehead against mine, the tip of his nose touching mine. "You scared me to death."

His hands brushed the bare skin on my back and I shivered at his touch. He drew his jacket down his shoulders and placed it around mine. Gratefully, I tugged my arms into it, instantly feeling much better. That was when I noticed the blood and the gash on his arm. And I looked down at the fabric of his jacket sleeve and saw tears in it.

Lightly, I reached out and touched the edge of one of the cuts. He didn't flinch but I felt the muscles in his arm tighten ever so softly. I glanced up with concern, my heart going out to him. "Ash…" I murmured under my breath, hating that he was in pain, that he had been hurt.

He smiled softly at me, probably hoping to diffuse my concern but it didn't work. "Meghan, it's alright. I'm fine. Just a scratch." When I didn't look convinced and my worried expression remained, he reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair from my face. "Really. Come on, let's go." Before I could protest anymore, he was tugging me into the pod and into the Mortal World.

***PAGE BREAK***

There were so many pregnancy tests to choose from, ones that did this, ones that did that, different brands. It was all overwhelming. Ash suggested asking somebody for help but I shook my head and grabbed a random one, already walking towards the counter. My husband quickly caught up, another two in his hands. 'Just to be sure.' He said.

And then we were in our bedroom, having returned from the mortal world. I paced impatiently outside the bathroom door, wanting the three minutes to be over already. Ash sat on our bed, watching me with bright silver eyes.

He got up from the bed and caught at my wrist before I could do another tiring lap. It was well past midnight and weariness weighed down on me heavily; however the anticipation was keeping me wide awake. Ash pulled me to the bed and pushed me down into a sitting position. He sat down beside me and gathered me into his arms.

After a few minutes, I sighed heavily, afraid to ask the question that we were both wondering. "Is it time yet?" Ash glanced at the watch that I had given him for his birthday last year, and silently nodded.

I brushed my sweaty palms onto my jeans and stood, Ash following after me and taking my hand in his. We drew closer and closer towards the sink until we were staring down at the white sticks that would predict our future.

I put a hand up to my mouth as I gasped.

Positive. I was pregnant.


End file.
